This map is interesting because it shows several rights that were historically denied women except in modern times. Based on the information on the map, most countries only gave women these rights in the 20th century, usually within the last 50 years. This is shocking because it shows just how recently women were granted rights that men have had for millenia. In fact, Saudi Arabia and the UAE still don't grant women the right to vote in the 21st century. In the last century, we have gone to the moon, we have created weapons that can level countries, and we have planned to go to Mars, but some people still do not have the right to choose their leaders.

This article is about women having their political and personal rights such as freedom from oppression, abuse, and other things. Also, this article is about how people are trying to spread women's political rights throughout the world but it is just too hard. This article is on this page because it relates to how women are struggling to get their freedom while some countries have gotten it easily. This article benefits people who are motivated to help those in dire need or support, people who will continue to stand uo for these women, and people who can start a movement to end this madness once and for all. This article is related to the book Half the sky because most of the developed countries around the world have freedom for their women, but some countries are still fighting the horrors of rape, genital mutilation, prostitution, bridal and honor killings, and many more.

This map shows the political outlook of Womens' rights across the world where the yellow is where women have the right to vote, grey is where women have the right to stand for election and black is where the first women were elected recently.

This map relates to unit 1 because it is an example of a reference map because of the data it shows and is a very precise version of a formal region because of its commonality between regions. It also shows a spread of hierarchical diffusion through wealthier countries

On three different occasions, the candidate with the most votes didn't become President of the United States. We call this "The Electoral College Problem." Here a solution. Simple. Mathematical. Rational.

I know the founding fathers would be horrified as this cuts into the whole idea of the electoral college: to place a further check on the majority when electing a president. Nonetheless, I would support a redrawing of the map that would lean toward a popular vote system.

Interesting idea, however I can't say this is a "rational" solution to the Electoral College. It is actually completely irrational to think that the borders could be redrawn and everyone could be redistricted every four years... They can't even manage to get a census out every year... Logistical nightmare. I agree with Ken and Gary, let the people choose with the popular vote

While this is not predicting a coup in any of these places, this map is a visualization of data that was used to assess the factors that would make a coup likely (to see an alternate map, here is the Washington Post's review of the same data that mapped the 30 countries most likely to have a coup).

Questions to Ponder: What factors do you think would be important in compilling data of this nature? What makes a country susceptible to this type of governmental overthrow? What creates governmental stability?

The algorithm for successful coups uses just four risk factors, one of which is really just an adjustment to the intercept.

Infant mortality rate (relative to annual global median, logged): higher risk in countries with higher rates.Degree of democracy (Polity score, quadratic): higher risk for countries in the mid-range of the 21-point scale.Recent coup activity (yes or no): higher risk if any activity in the past five years.Post-Cold War period: lower risk since 1989.

The algorithm for any coup attempts, successful or failed, uses the following ten risk factors, including all four of the ones used to forecast successful coups.

Infant mortality rate (relative to annual global median, logged): higher risk in countries with higher rates.Recent coup activity (count of past five years with any, plus one and logged): higher risk with more activity.Post-Cold War period: lower risk since 1989.Popular uprisings in region (count of countries with any, plus one and logged): higher risk with more of them.Insurgencies in region (count of countries with any, plus one and logged): higher risk with more of them.Economic growth (year-to-year change in GDP per capita): higher risk with slower growth.Regime durability (time since last abrupt change in Polity score, plus one and logged): lower risk with longer time.Ongoing insurgency (yes or no): higher risk if yes.Ongoing civil resistance campaign (yes or no): higher risk if yes.Signatory to 1st Optional Protocol of the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (yes or no): lower risk if yes.

Brown University's Choices Program has many excellent resources for social studies teachers including "Teaching with the News." Many teachers are seeing the importance of Syria, but might lack the regional expertise to put it in context or to the time to link it with the curriculum. If that is the case (and even if it is not), this is the perfect place to find lesson plans on the ongoing Syrian conflict.

South Sudan recently gained its independence from Sudan. South Sudan is now home to 10-12 million people and is the 193rd member of the United Nations. However, just because South Sudan became independent from Sudan does not mean it does not no longer carry some of the remaining issues.

This infographic gives an idea of why South Sudan seceded from the rest of the country. Decades of civil war preceded the secession, and it is clear the cultural differences between the two areas were a contributing factor. South Sudan is a part of the fertile Sahel, with the majority of its people Christian, while Sudan is mostly desert, with the majority of its people Muslims. South Sudan, as a new nation, faces a number of difficulties. Its new government needed to remain stable to focus on nation building, but war has broken out between the government and a rebel faction. South Sudan, should it become stable again, should work to improve the education of its people, as the infographic explains, since the vote to secede needed symbols rather than words due to only 15% of its people being literate.

"Iran sits smack in the middle of one of the most important geopolitical regions on Earth. Much of its western flank is bordered by either Iraq or the Persian Gulf, and it has considerable control over one of the world’s most important waterways for oil shipping and trade, the Strait of Hormuz."

Given it's context, Iran is a country that students should know beyond the three main facts that that most Americans are aware of (Iran has an Islamic-based government, an emerging nuclear program and a ton of oil). This article is a good starting point.

Somalia has been the go-to criticism example for anarchy and lawlessness in my generation, but with the times our metaphors must also change. I'm interesting in seeing how Somalia gains control after a time of such factionalism.

This article describes the stabilizing political situation in Somalia. The country was long without a central government and the instability made Somalia a haven for Islamic extremists and piracy. In 2012, Somalia held successful elections and the new government, located in the Puntland region, has been taking territory from Al Shabaab and reducing piracy. The increasing stability could improve Somalia's economy as interest in its oil could see significant foreign investment into the former "failed state."

Somalia, or as we referred to it last class "a country that is not really a country". Somalia is famous for being a fractured, failing state. The American war film, "Black Hawk Down" is set in Mogadishu and shows the country even in the 1990s fracturing apart under the influence of various warlords. The movie was based on an actual event that occurred in the early nineties, in which the US tried to oust a large scale crime boss, supposedly to stabilize the nation, however this plan failed, as the nation continued to be fractured. This article claims that there is progress being made in the country (Circa 2013) as the pro-"government" forces and a coalition for African security pushed back a terrorist group out of the capital and back to their stronghold in the country. During 2012, the terrorist group lost its last stronghold. However, Somalia still has a great deal of challenges facing it. Al Shabbab is not fully eliminated, just weakened. The pirates still exist on the Somalia coast, and trying to recreate a country out of something that hasn't existed as one for decades will be difficult. However, I am pulling for the nation to succeed, the people in the region need stability.

Millions of American citizens on the island have spoken. Now, Washington must act.

After the Nov. 6th referendum, the question of Puerto Rico's political status vis-a-vis the United States for the future is actually murkier than it was before. The Puerto Rican voters have spoken, but the meanings of the plebiscite results are still being debated.

The author of this article provided a unique insight about what it meant to be from Puerto Rico when she recalled her memory from her fourth grade class. People clearly recognize themselves as Puerto Rican and not American although the President is considered their head of state. It is understandable why national identity would be be confusing.

I found the article very interesting. It makes sense that the Republican party would not want 4 million Hispanic voters. It is interesting that the island is "colonial" in nature. I guess in a way it is being kept like that. I don't see the US giving it up or "selling" it as the 4th grader suggested because of pure vanity. The island would have to sink for the US to give it up.

The recent plebiscite on the future of Puerto Ricos political status was extremely flawed. The current commonwealth option was not listed on the ballot. Many people left that portion of their ballot blank. The 61 percent of people who voted for statehood, is more likely closer to 45 percent. It is sad that a clear and decisive election could not have been held. Puerto Rico deserves to have its problematic political status resolved. While I personally favor statehood, Congress has made the right decision when it comes to ignoring these results.

"Freedom House has been at the forefront in monitoring threats to media independence since 1980. A free press plays a key role in sustaining and monitoring a healthy democracy, as well as in contributing to greater accountability, good government, and economic development. Most importantly, restrictions on media are often an early indicator that governments intend to assault other democratic institutions."

This interactive map shows some intriguing spatial patterns about the freedom of press internationally. What other patterns to you see in matching up with the most free presses in the world (in green)? How does a free (or not free press) influence the cultural and political values of a country?

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